Heart
disease isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when most people think
about a newborn baby. But the most common birth defect across the
country is congenital heart defect, affecting one in 100 newborns.

American Heart Association volunteers are raising awareness during
American Heart Month in February by knitting red hats for babies born at
Northside Hospital.

“In 2015, Northside Hospital delivered more babies than any other
community hospital in the nation,” said Carol Kratochvil, Northside
Hospital volunteer services manager. “We screen all newborns for
congenital heart defects before they go home. The hats will help us
educate about the importance of these screenings.”

Jan Murphy, of Marietta, director of affiliate meeting management for
the American Heart Association, led the “Little Hats, Big Hearts”
project in Georgia. Murphy said her volunteers mailed her knitted and
crocheted red hats from Alabama, Puerto Rico, Mississippi and the U.S.
Virgin Islands after she made online requests, craft store flyers and
word of mouth spread about the project.

“Each hat is completely unique and different,” Murphy said. “The reasons
people did it were very touching and there’s a lot of passion when it
comes to newborns. We hope to keep this project growing.”

To learn more about the “Little Hats, Big Hearts” project, visit www.heart.org,
or email jan.murphy@heart.org.

For more information about Northside Hospital Auxiliary, visit NorthsideAtlAux.com
or call 404-851-8707.